Search form

You are here

EA Cofounder: Consoles Are Dying

Hardly a month passes without hearing some bigwig analyst or developer cries that PC is dying, but Trip Hawkins the cofounder of Electronic Arts believes that consoles are the real dying breed.

"The console market is always going to be with us, because there's always going to be a hardcore segment, a segment that likes innovation," he acknowledged. "But it's going to become a smaller market, and it's going to be more like a hobby market. You look at airplanes. Most of us just want to be a passenger, but there's a hobby market for people who are really into aviation and want to take flying lessons and maybe someday have their own airplane. I think that's what's happening to the console market."

Hawkins believes that the advantages inherent to internet-based gaming ensure that its popularity will increase dramatically in the near future. "In the old days I'd go down to the basement to play Grand Theft Auto," he said. "But the Facebook gamer is able to play at work, at home, in a hotel on a PC. They can get access to a browser just about anywhere. People are thinking about convenience first."

SHOW COMMENTS (40)

HIDE COMMENTS (40)

I'm on the console's are dying side but Trip yo' gonna trip over yer own dumb ***. At least get rid of the iFad before you go talking about the longevity & persistence of a product in the market.
You probably change yer tune more often than you change yer business practices to **** yer customers where they **** & fart.

This comment by Trip Hawkins about consoles dying does not makes sense. True, PC games are alot more portable and flexible in many ways, yet... there are a lot of people who use a computer for Facebook and nothing else... there are so many people today who like to play games they have every console on the market, yet are to dumb to use paint or change the background picture on their computer. Oh yeah, most of those people use Macs because they think they are better, when people who know their way around a PC are completely aware that the hardware in a MAC is no Different from a PC. This said, there are 2 totally different groups of gamers and Computer users. Trip Hawkins is so out of tune with the real world he is unaware how many people just want to put the game into a funny looking box, turn on their TV and play a game (Then even that is difficult for some people, I kid you now) Young and old alike.

Actually the hardware in a Mac PC is inferior to the hardware in an equivalently priced non-Mac PC & even more so if that non-Mac PC is built by the end user or a shop.
Consoles will die because PC's can do more. It was always going to be that way & I could've told you that at any point in time. The more a device can do, the more value it has. Everyone has a PC & the "hardcore" gamers, game on PC. You don't know **** about ******' hardcorps brah. Real gamers build they own box brah, & they ******' bauce all over yo' lil' single purpose shitbox. It's all about desktops, laptops & smartphones ya'. One more generation of shitboxes & that's it, yer TV's gonna be a PC & then no more consoles. GFY ********. Go eat a dude fart why don't ya?

Consoles are like the coin op arcade games of the past naturally it will not last. This goes beyond technical fudge, as it comes down to more of what the industry feels gets their sales across. Sales just happen to come in record numbers, whatever platform encourages this to the largest will ultimately be the driving force for the industry. Clearly PC's are the winner they have been for more than a decade and they will be for decades to come.

Id have to agree with this Mr Hawkins fella. Its not so much that consoles (and/or, whatever) are dying, its more that portible application gaming are becoming more popular. Previous styles of playing games arnt so much loosing they're audience its that these new app games are now targeting a wider audiences and customers. Why build an expensive PC when you can get the same games on console, why own a console and pay $90 per game when you can by a hand held device to play anywhere and pay all most not for each app/game. It just Marketing *******. throw out the old bring in the new.

Your post contains a few contradictory ideas. You seem to be trying to sound smart so heres a few tips: 1- Check your grammar, no one takes a person who can't tell the difference between "their" and "they're" seriously. 2- Make sure your ideas are consistent, if they have grave logic flaws no one will take you seriously. 3- Don't use bad words/slangs like "*******", it makes you seem like a kid and no one takes kids seriously.

consoles need to be able to get upgrades video/processers/ram/sound ext you kno they should be more custimizable i mean sounds like a computer but arnt they basicly computers now just not cuxtum as we would like i think that could open a whole nother market more jobs also and people would be able to make there console the way would want it to be i think gamers/programmers would like that also like i said befor more portable and im not talking like a psp or a vita bigger than that but they need to learn consoles need to be ahead of the computer age and then console sales would sky rocket and make pcs a step behind the console world i also think hardcore console gamers would like the fact that they can upgrade there video cards and addon hard drives possible make it so its a open sources so programers cAn custumize there whole system to were there is not one console alike i kno it sounds like a computer but arnt they already i mean i got windows xp running on my ps3 im sure im not the onlyone it comes in handy

Nope, the whole idea of allowing gamers to modify their console hardware renders the concept of CONSOLE unseless. What developers like about consoles is that the hardware is always the same, so its much easier to develop and test for than PCs which have an infinity of different components and drivers which may or may not work and cause problems with the game.

Releasing new consoles and new games are actually business decisions which obey business strategies. A businessman is therefore the most suited person to talk about such things, not a gamer who has no knowledge of how the world works.

I hate consoles but love computer video games - partially because I hate the controllers for consoles. A mouse seems to work better for me. Plus you can't compare the graphics of a well tuned PC game to a console (if you have a high end video card).
I was just looking at cases last night as I'll be building my first HTPC as soon as the haswell chips are available. By then the nvidia 780 should be out as well.
I have zero interest in playing a FPS on an ipad

Although he is an idiot, he isn't entirely wrong. I would have to say from a gamers perspective it will be at least 2 more generations of consoles before mobile devices take over as the main platforms for general gaming. I can say though without a doubt the next gen consoles coming now are going to be the golden age of console gaming thus far. Can't wait to see Console servers playing online games with upwards of 200 plus players on a server.

The golden age of console gaming is long gone. What we will experience in a couple of years is the last attempt at milking every possible penny from a nearly dead business model. 200 plus players on a server has been possible for over a decade and has been done before. The servers that host games aren't consoles anyway, there is no excuse to not have such player limits other than it being intentional. 200 players on a server means chaos with games being designed as they currently are. Can you imagine text or voice communication with so many people trying to talk at the same time? MMO's have worked it out with zones, but that won't work for action games. Its not a technical issue, we have had the hardware to make that happen for a long time. Its a matter of breaking the current model and creating a new one, however even with all the innovation buzz companies are so proud of we still have all of them afraid to be the first to try.

I don't think consoles will die. I think that from a parents perspective the console presents a more secure entertainment for kids than a pc could ever provide especially now that consoles don't just let you play games anymore.

What I mean by "Console" means video game consoles including mobile/handheld video game consoles....for which the only other alternative are PCs, meaning full blown computers including laptops, netbooks, nettops, IOS based or not. I would also never consider super computers or servers as an alternative. I doubt I can afford to buy arcade machines either.
So what else is there that can possibly play video games other than those?

*The console market is always going to be with us, because there's always going to be a hardcore segment, a segment that likes innovation*
Since when are consoles innovative? Its just now catching up with PC software levels like marketplace, movies and other **** PC's have had for ages. Most people that play consoles are people who just want to chill and play some games with out any mither. That and pre-pubescent little ***** that whine about how your a n00b.

If those large boxes are connected to the internet and stored in secretive data centers then yes. As for the client side, convenience means mobile, easy to use devices. You're just assuming he means PCs because you can't see anything beyond your little PC x Consoles world.

Ea co-founder doesn't make consoles, if he think's they are dying, tell him to tell Microsofts sales they're dying lol. I'll always have a console and a computer, only Mexicans can't afford to, so long as there are games, there will be consoles.

Anyone who follows videogame related news knows consoles are dying. With many analysts claiming the next generation will be the last. I'll be nice and explain, firstly the time when videogames were a thing for kids is long past. Average gamer age is over 20, people on their 20's have jobs, relationships and other things that take up their time. Therefore such people choose convenience whenever possible and smartphones have been getting faster at an unprecedent pace. I'm not saying smartphones will take over gaming, but they are pushing the mobile technology forward, so if in 6 or 7 years someone builds a really powerful handheld which can use your tv as the main screen wirelessly plus all the other stuff a smartphone can do, what do you think those 20 something (or 30 something by then) people with limited time and patience will choose? One device to rule them all, and since these people are the majority AND also hold most of the cash, thats the people the market will cater to. As for your last statement, its wrong. So long as there are consoles, there will be console games, not the other way around. Games will survive regardless of which platform takes over.

"so if in 6 or 7 years someone builds a really powerful handheld which can use your tv as the main screen wirelessly plus all the other stuff a smartphone can do, what do you think those 20 something (or 30 something by then) people with limited time and patience will choose? One device to rule them all" my galaxy s 3 does this. and still enjoy a control pad,my phones great but its still just a really cool phone gaming is number 3 or 4 in the phone business the main focus is always going to be cheapest way to give best phone service to maintain customers.
consoles will never die ,the hardware and delivery method might change but the console will still be the main gaming gateway ,specially now that w8 is ruining the pc world by limiting content distribution based on ratings ,i actually think some one will make a linux based console get with steam distribution and dethrone every console out there's room for a new console like that imagine new system plus access to every game u ever bought from steam [i have over 50] steam sales are king just saying the market is open for the taking consoles aren't dying they just need a major overhaul as far as costs distribution and development `````````````my fan boy wish sega come back steam based ui with a flash capable web browser no more sonic and a 512bit streets of rage lol

thats why they should make consoles more convenient for gamers make them faster smaller with a 4g access or a new constint connection to internet also fully bluetooth threw power source audio controlers coares and make them run on top line graphics cards and out this word processers i think it should come in a holding case with all out everything open and go like a laptop comes with those 3d screens you can play 2 player without split screen a grab and go hit the road runs with aback up battery unless home then connects to tv via bluetooth i think that would be a crowd pleaser the monitor it coms with should be a ultrathin lite weight 24 inch or so every thing needs to fit in basicly a laptop case maybe a little bigger than one but everythin should be easy access ithink this would be a ground braking idea if done correctly idk what doyou think keeep or smash